Paper bag



Oct. 3, 193 D; E. WOODWARD PAPER BAG Filed April 14, 1932 2 Sheets-Shet1 //v VE/V 70R n. 5 W000 WA RD. awe/6L4,

his ATTORNE S4 Oct. 3, 1933. D. E. WOODWARD PAPER BAG Filed April 14,1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 RR 0 m i 0 Patented Oct. 3, 1933 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE PAPER. BAG

Application April 14, 1932. Serial No. 605,244

12 Claims. (Cl. 229-55) This invention relates to paper bags and moreparticularly to multi-wall bags having pasted end closures.

Paper bags are extensively used for packing' 5 and shipping heavymaterials, such as cement,

lime and the like, and in order to secure the necessary strength andflexibility. it is customary to provide bags the walls of which cons tof a plurality of plies of paper. Usually t e bags are 1 formed byfolding a series of webs 0 paper one about the other, with the edges ofeach web overlapped and pasted, to form a continuous multiply tube whichis then cut to bag lengths. In the pasted type of bag one or both endsof the bag are closed by folding inwardly the end portions of themulti-ply walls to form flaps, which flaps are pasted one to the other.In the case of a multi-ply bag it is necessary that the several plies ofthe longer or side flaps should be pasted one to the other. Consequentlyeach fiap consists of the several plies of paper and of a correspondingnumber of layers of paste and this results in a heavy relatively stififlap and it is difficult to so paste such a stifl heavy flap to anadjacent flap that the flaps will not break or pull apart, and the bagclosure, including two such flaps, is heavy and lacks flexibility.Various forms of closure have been suggested in an effort to overcomethis objectionable feature but these have, for the most part at least,either lacked the necessary strength or they were difilcult to make.Bags of this type are usually closed at both ends when the bag is formedand the closure at one end of the bag is provided with a valve to permitthe insertion of a filling spout and which may be closed after the baghas been removed from the spout. Such a valve is usually formed byleaving one ofthe end flaps of the closure free fromthe other flaps sothat it may be moved 4 into and out of engagement therewith. In theusual bag of this type such a valve does not close automatically whenthe bag is removed from the spout but it is necessary for the operatorto drop the filled bag on its lower end or otherwise manipulate the sameto cause the contents and air within the bag to force the valve upwardlyto its seat. Even when the valve is properly closed very fine orpowdered materials will sift about the same and escape from thebag in anobjeca'smuch as the walls are not all flat some of them will notproperly display advertising matter printed thereon. As a result the useof paper bags for packing certain commodities has been, to aconsiderable. extent, supplanted by the more expensive card boardcontainers or boxes, this being particularly true in the case ofcommodities packed in small quantities and displayed on shelves and thelike. a

One object of the present invention is to provide a pasted end closurefor a multi-ply bag which will combine flexibility with strength.

A further object of the invention is to provide a multi-ply bag with endflaps which are so constructed as to materially reduce the number ofplies of paper and the number of layers of paste therein.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a bag which'will besymmetrical -'in shape and of substantially uniform thickness throughoutms area.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the bag is described indetail.

In the accompanying drawings. 1 is a perspective view of a bag embodyingmy inven tion, showing the same fully extended; Fig. 2 is-a plan viewof'the end closure with the end flaps folded inwardly; Fig. 3 is asimilar view with one of the side flaps folded upon the end flaps; Fig.4 is a plan view of the closure in its-completed form; Fig. 5 is aperspective view of the end portion of a bag with the-several pliesseparated to show the construction thereof; Fig. 6 is a detail view of aportion of one of the intermediate plies of a side flap; Fig. 'l is asimilar view of a slightly modified form of intermediate ply; Fig. 8 isa similar view of anothermodifiedform of intermediate ply; 9 is asectional view taken through the valve on a line 99 of Fig. 10; and Fig.10 is a perspective view of thevalved comer of the bag, showing a sealapplied thereto.

In these drawings I have illustrated one embodiment of my invention,with certain modifications thereof, and have shown the same as appliedto bags having multi-ply walls, but it will be understood that thisparticularembodiment has been chosen for the purpose of illustrationonly and that the invention may take various 'herein used is intendedtoinclude any material capable of being folded and pasted in the mannerdescribed, and that the term "bag is intended no lustrated. The sidewalls of the bag may be stiff enough to be self-supporting and stillhave end portions sufiiciently flexible to form flaps.

The invention, either as a whole or in part,

may be applied to bags'for packing various commodities in variousquantities, and ranging in size from very small bags adapted to bedisplayed on the shelves of a store to large shipping bags. Theparticular bag here illustrated is a shipping bag of the shallow typecommonly used for packing cement and the like, its width being muchgreater than its thickness, and when extended it is rectangular in crosssection, as shown in Fig. 1. The bag is of the multi-ply type and itswalls may include any desired number of plies but, as here shown, thebag consists of five nested tubes and therefore each wall of the bag ismade up of five plies of paper, as indicated in 20 Fig. 5 by thereference numerals ll, l2, l3, l4 and 15. The several tube sections orpliesvare of the same length and the narrow or edge walls 16 of the bagare folded inwardly along a longitudinal line, 17, to provide each endwall with an inwardly folded longitudinal plait or gusset, by means ofwhich the tubular body may be collapsed with the side walls 18 thereofin contact one with the other. To close the end of the bag the endportions 19 and 19a of the edge walls 16 are extended and foldedinwardly along lines 20 to form the end flaps of the closure and in thusfolding the end portions of the edge walls the adjacent portions of theside walls, to which the end flaps are connected, are also foldedinwardly along the diagonal lines 21, as shown in Fig. 2. The endportions 22 and 23 of the side walls 18, which constitute the sideflaps, are then folded inwardly successively, the side flap 22, as shownin Fig. 3, being first folded upon the end flaps 19 and 19a and the sideflap 23 being then folded upon the side flap 22, as shown in Fig. 4. Theside flap 22 is pasted to one or both of the end flaps and the side flap23 is pasted to the flap 22, the paste having been applied to the flapsbefore the side flaps were folded inwardly. If the end closure is to beprovided with a valve one of the end flaps, in the present instance theend flap 19, is not pasted but is left free from the side flaps so thatit can be. moved away from these flaps to receive the filling spout.

In order to avoid the stiff heavy flaps which result from pasting theseveral plies of each fiap one to the other I have so constructed theflap as to materially reduce its thickness and thus provide the samewith a relatively great degree of flexibility without objectionablydecreasing its strength. For this purpose two or more of the plies ofeach side flap are of different widths at differen points in theirlength, the wide portion of one n, being arranged 'adjacenttothe nar rowportion of another ply so that the wide portions of the two pliesmay liein substantially the same plane and these wide portions of the plies arethen pasted to another ply which is of substantiall, uniform widththroughout its length.

The exact form and arrangement of the plies may at intervals to provideserrations or tongues 24, the outer ends of which terminate adjacent tothe outer edges of the plies 11 and 15. The outer end portions of thetongues on each ply are spaced one from the other distances sufficientto receive between them the outer end portions of adjacent tongues oneach of the other two plies. Preferably: the tongues are of uniformshape and width and the adjacent tongues of each ply have their outerend portions spaced apart a distance equal to or slightly greater thantwice their width. The tongues on each ply are arranged in staggeredrelation to the tongues on the other plies, so that the end portions ofadjacent tongues on the plies 12 and 13 will lie in the space betweenthe end portions of tongues on the ply 14. Preferably the end portionsof the several plies are such that their lateral edges will lie closeone to the other but it is not essential that they should be in contactand a short space between these edges or aslight overlapping of theedges will not materially modify the characteristics of the fiap. Thetongues on the several intermediate flaps are then pasted to both theinner fiap 15 and the outer flap 11, the arrangement being such thateach tongue will be pasted to both the inner and outer flaps butinasmuch, as the end portions of the tongues are arranged insubstantially the same plane it will be apparent that the edge portionof the pasted flap comprises only three thick.- nesses of paper and twolayers of paste,'whereas if the five plies of the flap had been of equalwidth throughout the flap would have consisted of five thicknesses ofpaper and four layers of paste.

The tongues or serrations onthe intermediate plies may be of anysuitable form and in Figs. 5 and 6 I have shown each tongue as being ofa relatively great width at its rear end, that is, 'at its point ofconnection with the body of the flap, and the lateral edges of thetongue converge outwardly to theedge of the flap, the arrangement beingsuch as to provide narrow V-shaped spaces between adjacent tongues. InFig. 7 I have shown the tongues of slightly different shape. In thisform also the rear portion of each tongue, as shown at 25, is ofrelatively great width and its edges converge outwardly but the outer oredge portion of the tongue, 26, has its lateral edges substantiallyparallel so as to provide relatively large portions of the tongues lyingin the same, plane. In Fig. 8 I have shown the tongues,.27,substantially similar to those shown in Fig. 6 with the exception thatthe lateral edges thereof are curved instead of straight, the edges ofthe several plies being scalloped.

When the end closure is provided with a valve, as shown at 19, the valveflap is connected at its lateral edges with the inwardly folded portionsof the side flaps, which flaps are connected with the side walls 18,(Fig. 9) and is connected at its outer edge with the adjacent edge wall16. That portion of the plaited edge wall adjacent to the fiap iscreased alongthe lines 28 which converge from the corners of the valveto the apex of the plait in the edge wall and the outer edge of thevalve is thus connected with the edge wall by a triangular section ofthat wall which, when the bag is collapsed, is folded inwardly parallelwith the valve flap, the closure as a whole being folded on a line 29 toa position parallel with the side walls. When the bag is opened andextended the movement of the inwardly folded plait, in the edge wall toits extended position will carry the triangular section outwardly intosubstantially 150 the plane of the edge wall and will thus-cause thevalve flap to be moved outwardly to its closed position, that is, incontact with the inner side flap. This automatic closing of the valvehas two important results, it causes the valve to be automatically andinstantly closed when the bag is removed from the filling spout, withoutthe necessity of dropping the bag or otherwise manipulating the same tocause the valve to be closed by the material within the same. Further,itpermits the bag to be provided with a valve in each end closure sothat either end of the bag which is picked up by the operator may beapplied to the filling spout. This cannot be done with the ordinaryvalved bag because the valve does not closeautomatically and if such avalve were provided in the lower end closure of the bag the materialdeposited on the center of the closure by the spout would find its waybeneath the valve fiap before sufficient material had been deposited onthe valve flap itself to close the same, and consequently the valvewould not be closed. With the present bag the opening or extending ofthe bag closes the valve and when a valve is provided in the lowerendclosure no material can enter beneath the same but the valve willremain closed and eventually the material piled thereon will firmly holdit in a closed position.

When the bag is extended the plaited edge walls move outwardly. intopositions in which they are substantially flat and perpendicular to boththe side walls and the closures, the triangular section, which connectsthe one edge wall with its valve, moving with the edge wall into thesame plane therewith. Consequently that portion of the edge wall withwhich the valve flap 19 is connected is fiat and smooth, therebypermitting a seal to be applied thereto by pasting, as,by pasting astrip of paper 30 on the closure and on the end of the adjacent edgewall so that it will extend over the valve flap and completely close thevalve opening and thus prevent any sifting of fine material about thevalve. This cannot be done with the ordinary valve bag because the edgewalls are folded outwardly and when the bag is extended they do notassume fiat or perpendicular positions but are more or less bowed, andthe end portions, which are connected with the valve, are sloping andirregular so that it is not practical to paste a seal on the same.Further, this characteristic of the edge walls results in the productionof a bag which, when filled, is of symmetrical form and of uniformthickness throughout its area so that the filled bags may be stacked oneupon the other in a firm vertical pile. The edge walls, as well as theend and side walls, of the filled bag being substantially flat, theindividual bags will stand alone on any wall that may be placedlowermost, and all the walls are well adapted to display advertisingmatter printed thereon.

While I have shown and described one embodiment of my invention,together with certain modifications thereof, I wish it to be understoodthat I do not desire to be limited to the details thereof as various'modifications may occur to a person skilled in the art.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is:

l. A bag comprising multi-ply walls having at their ends fiaps which arefolded inwardly to form an end closure, one of said fiaps having a plyprovided with a continuous edge and having other plies provided withserrated edges, the serrations of the several plies being arranged instaggered relation and being pasted to the continuous edge of the firstmentioned ply, said flap as awhole being pasted to an adjacent flap.

2. A bag comprising multi-ply walls having at their ends flaps which arefolded inwardly to form an end closure, one of said flaps having innerand outer plies provided with continuous edges and also having aplurality of intermediate plies each of which is provided with a seriesof tongues spaced one from the other, the tongues on said intermediateplies being arranged in staggered relation and being pasted to both theinner ply and the outer ply and said inner ply being pasted to anadjacent flap.

3. A bag comprising multi-ply Walls having at their ends flaps which arefolded inwardly ing a ply provided witha continuous edge and having aplurality of other plies each provided with a series of spaced tongues,the lateral edges of which converge toward the outer edge of said fiap,the narrow portion of each tongue being arranged between narrow portionsof adjacent tongues on another ply and all of saidtongues being'pastedto the first mentioned ply and said fiap as a whole being pasted to anadjacent flap.

,to form an end closure, one of said flaps hav- 4. A bag comprisingmulti-ply walls having at their ends fiaps which are folded inwardly toform an end closure, one of said flaps having a ply provided with acontinuous edge and havwhich converge toward the outer edge of saidflap, the narrow portion of each tongue being arranged between narrowportions of adjacent tongues on another ply and the wider portion ofeach tongue overlapping said adjacent tongues on said other ply and all:of said tongues being pasted to the first mentioned ply and the fiap asa whole being pasted to an adjacent flap.

5. A bag comprising multi-ply walls having at their ends flaps which arefolded inwardly to form an end closure, one of said flaps having innerand outer plies provided with continuous edges and also having aplurality of intermediate plies each of which is provided with a seriesof: tongues the lateral edges of which converge toward the edge of saidflap and the narrow portion of each tongue on each intermediate fiapbeing arranged between the narrow portions of adjacent tongues onanother intermediate flap and all of said tongues being pasted to saidinner and outer plies and said inner ply being pasted to an adjacentflap.

6. A bag comprising multi-ply-walls having at their ends fiaps which arefolded inwardly to form an end closure, one of said flaps having a plyprovided with a continuous edge and having a plurality of other plieseach provided with a series of spaced tongues, the tongues 'on each plybeing so arranged wi.h relation to the tongues on the other plies thatthe outer end portions or" the tongues on two of said plies will lieedge to edge between the outer end portions of adjacent iongues on athird ply, the tongues of each ply being pasted to the first mentionedply and the flap as a whole being pasted to an adjacent ply.

7. A bag comprising multi-ply walls having at their ends .fiaps whichare folded inwardly to form an end closure, one of said flaps havinginner and outer plies provided with continuous edges and also having aplurali y-of intermediate plies each of which is provided with a seriesof tongues spaced one from the other, the tongues of each intermediateply being so arranged with relation to the tongues on the otherintermediate plies that the outer end portions of the tongues on two ofsaid plies will lie edge to edge between the outer end portions ofadjacent tongues on the third ply, the tongues of each ply being pastedto both said inner ply and said outer ply and said inner ply beingpasted to an adjacent flap.

8. A bag having walls the end portions of which constitute flaps adaptedto be folded inwardly to form an end closure, each flap comprising aplurality of plies and one of said flaps having a ply of substantiallyuniform width throughout its length and having a plurality of otherplies each having alternate portions of unequal width, a wider portionof one of the last mentioned plies being arranged adjacent to a narrowportion of another of said last mentioned plies, whereby the outer edgeporlions of said last mentioned plies will lie in substantially the sameplane, all the last mentioned plies being pasted to the first mentionedply and the flap as a whole being pasted to an adjacent flap.

9. .A bag having walls 1 he end portions of which constitute flapsadapted to be folded inwardly to form an end closure, one of said flapscomprising inner and outer plies which are of substantially uniformwidth throughout its length, a plurality of intermediate plies eachhaving alternate portions of unequal width, the wide and narrow portionsof adjacent intermediate plies being so arranged with relation one tothe other that the outer edge portions of the several intermediate plieswill lie in substantially the same plane, the several intermediate pliesbeing pasted to both said inner ply and said outer ply and said flap asa whole being pasted to an adjacent ply.

10. A closure for a multi-ply bag comprising end flaps adapted to befolded inwardly and side flaps adapted to be folded one on the other endon said end flaps, each of said side flaps comprising inner and outerplies each of substantially uniform width throughout its length, and aplurality of intermediate plies each having alternate portions ofunequal width, the wide and narrow portions of adjacent intermediateplies being so arranged with relation one to the other that the outeredge portions of the several intermediate plies may lie in substantiallythe same plane, the several intermediate plies being pasted to both saidinner ply and said outer ply and the inner ply of one of said side flapsbeing pasted to the outer ply of the other side flap.

11. A bag comprising side walls provided at their adjacent ends.withmulti-ply flaps adapted to be folded inwardly to form an end closure,the inner and outer plies of one of said flaps being of substantiallyequal width and having continuous edges, and an intermediate ply of saidflap having alternate portions of unequal width spaced apart lengthwisethereof and pasted to said inner and outer plies, and one of the firstmentioned plies being pasted to an adjacent flap.

12. A bag comprising side walls provided at their adjacent endswithmulti-ply flaps adapted to be folded inwardly to form an end closure,the inner and outer plies of one of said flaps being of substantiallyequal width and having continuous edges, and an intermediate ply of saidflap having tongues spaced apart lengthwise thereof, the ends of saidtongues being adjacent to the edges of said inner and outer plies andpasted thereto, and one of the first mentioned plies being pasted to anadjacent flap.

DONALD E. WOODWARD.

